1984 Calladega 500
The 1984 Calladega 500 was known for a big 18 car crash on lap 52. The 1984 season was already known for the 1984 Nightdona 500 because Greg Candyman nearly died there. The crash started on turn 2 when rookie Greg Locke made contact with William Highbanks and Mike Yankee. This caused William to spin and take out Andrew Axler. Behind Andrew were racers Don Chapcar and Larry Smith. The spinning Andrew touched Chapcar and sent him into Larry Smith causing them both to go in the infield grass. Guenther and Sammy Smelter were both involved in the crash. While Chapcar made a minor impact with the inside wall, Smith was at nearly top speed when he was hit. Smith went into the infield grass at full speed before he hit the wall hard at an angle at 29 G force. Larry's engine was smoking and his right front tire badly damaged. Chapcar rushed to Larry before the ambulances and fire truck (John Firecatcher) arrived. Larry's crash was similar to Richie "Ricky" Knott's fatal crash back in a practice race for CARCA at Nightdona Speedway back in 1980. Larry's crash was bad enough that his grill fell off but was put back on later. Other cars involved in the 18 car crash were Claude Scruggs, Cole Speedland, Rusty Cornfuel, Crusty Rotor and Klint Shiftright. Dale Earnhardt Sr wins this race with Misti Motorkrass dedicating to the involved Claude second and The King taking third. Chick Hicks places 4th and Bill Brady 5th. Larry missed two races but didn't get replaced since he's a part-timer. Greg Candyman did not attend and is replaced by Guenther. He returned in the 1984 Leak Less 400 This race is not considered historic, but it is one of the most well known Calladega 500's of all time. Currently, there's no footage of Larry's accident. Don Alternators could not attend due to a bad crash on turn 2 while racing in the Daniel 500 in which he had to miss one race. Don returned for the Boston 350. All part-time racers except Brush Curber and Kevin Racingtire attended this race, because Brush and Kevin are part-time. Television Biography Network: CBS Announcers: Pinkie Pie and Spike Transcript Big One Spike: UH OH! GREG LOCKE MAKING CONTACT WITH WILLIAM HIGHBANKS AND MIKE YANKEE! GUENTHER AND SAMMY INVOLVED! ANDREW AXLER INVOLVED! DON CHAPCAR INVOLVED! PART-TIMER LARRY SMITH INVOLVED ALSO! Pinkie: LARRY SMITH HITS THE INSIDE WALL HARD! His engine is smoking. Spike: My god what a crash! Chapcar is rushing to him Don: LARRY JUST HIT THE WALL HARD GUYS! William: YEAH HE DID! Spike: THE RACE IS RED FLAGGED (Don, William, The King, Dale Sr, Luke, Roger, Misti, Claude, Cole, Kraig, Klint, Greg Locke and Andrew rush to Larry Smith so is soon surrounded by all the racers involved in the crash) Larry: Hey guys. Don: Larry you crashed hard. Larry: I did. My engine is smoking John: DID YOU SAY SMOKE? I'M COMING FOR YOU BURNING RED CAR! (soon others arrive) The King: That was a bad crash. Dale Sr: Not as bad as Greg Candyman's crash but still. Luke: YAYYY! YOU'RE OK LARRY! Larry: Well sorta. Mike: Oh well Larry Smith's gonna miss couple races but he is part time anyway. The King: Exactly. It's not a very big deal Luke and Roger. Roger: Yeah we know that. Luke: It's ok Larry. The King: That's what I was gonna say, Luke. Andrew: Geez, that was a horrible crash. I mean this is a really bad part-timer crash. Kraig: Well this is not really of a bad crash. Klint: I agree, dad. By the way, where's Lapis? Kraig: Here she comes. Lapis: It's Larry Smith's crash the problem. Racers what do you feel of the crash? (The King, Luke, Roger, Dale Sr, Don Chapcar, William, Misti, Claude, Cole, Kraig, Klint, Greg Locke and Andrew will react in that order.) The King: Bad. Luke and Roger: Horrible. Dale Sr: Intense. Don Chapcar: Really sad. James Cleanair: Horrible. Misti: I hope you're ok Larry! Claude: I have to say this is horrible! Cole: Oh no! Kraig: Part-timer is not a-ok! Klint: Yeah dad. Greg Locke: I'm rookie but part-timer is basically gonna miss races. Andrew: Oh (Yee) that was more than horrible because I have never seen a part-timer crash like that in my RACING CAREER FROM 1971 TO 1984!!! Lapis: It seems that there you go. Back to you Pinkie and Spike. Pinkie: A horrible crash for Larry Smith. Larry is gonna miss some races I'm thinking. We'll be back in a moment for more live flag to flag coverage of the Calladega 500. Results 1. Dale Earnhardt Sr - 200 laps 2. Misti Motorkrass - 200 laps 3. The King - 200 laps 4. Chick Hicks - 200 laps 5. Bill Brady - 200 laps 6. Ernie Gearson - 200 laps 7. Alloy Wilson - 200 laps 8. Tom Landis - 200 laps 9. Eugene Carbureski - 200 laps 10. Mike Seasons - 200 laps 11. Slide Powers - 200 laps 12. Haul Inngas - 200 laps 13. Mike Yankee - 200 laps (made contact, but finished all 200 laps) 14. Kraig Shiftright - 200 laps 15. Billy Ford - 200 laps 16. Johnathan Melter - 200 laps 17. Ronald Oaks - 200 laps 18. Thomas Tanrev - 200 laps 19. Greg Locke - 51 laps(crash) 20. William Highbanks - 51 laps(crash) 21. Andrew Axler - 51 laps(crash) 22. Don Chapcar - 51 laps(crash) 23. Larry Smith - 51 laps(crash, injuries) 24. James Robson - 51 laps(crash) 25. Brad Gonzalez - 51 laps(crash) 26. Bill Shields - 51 laps(crash) 27. Herbert Brown - 51 laps(crash) 28. Guenther - 51 laps(crash) 29. Cole Speedland - 51 laps(crash) 30. Klint Shiftright - 51 laps(crash) 31. Rusty Cornfuel - 51 laps(crash) 32. Crusty Rotor - 51 laps(crash) 33. Sammy Smelter - 51 laps(crash) 34. Harold Axel - 51 laps(crash) 35. Ron Pitcar - 51 laps(crash) 36. Claude Scruggs - 51 laps(crash) 37. Alex Quint - 12 laps(crash) 38. Bernie Simpson - 12 laps(crash)